Parties, Confessions, and Misunderstandings
by Retro Vamp
Summary: Pepper talks to a man with perfectly coiffed hair. Tony gets jealous.


Disclaimer: The characters belong to their rightful owners. I own nothing.

AN: I was inspired to write this fic when a fan at the Livejournal community "tonypepper" requested a fic where Tony walks in on Pepper being intimate with a man. It doesn't meet her exact request, but I was definitely inspired by it!

Apologies to Mr. Eckhart (who inspired me to create the character Mr. London), but your hair also inspired me to write this fic. Anyway, to the story! Enjoy. :)

* * *

Pepper sighed as she took another sip of her martini. It had been a month since Tony confessed to the world he was Iron Man, and what a month it had been. People from every magazine, newspaper, and television show wanted to speak with him. Companies wanted to sponsor him, and her phone never seemed to stop ringing.

It was complete and utter chaos, and Tony was loving every single moment of it. One of the newest changes Pepper was having difficulty with was the paparazzi. Sure, they had followed him around before he revealed that he was Iron Man, but now they camped outside his house. Pepper found it terribly intrusive, Tony found it amusing.

Since Tony's admission, there had been even more suspicion about his well-being and mental health...which meant they had to attend to the latest benefits and parties to assure people that he was quite sane and that he hadn't lost his marbles. Tonight they were both attending a party thrown by Mr. Bard, one of the board members of Stark Industries. And out of all the parties she had gone to, this had to be one of the worst. Which was sad, really. Mr. Bard had a stunning colonial-style mansion, and a beautiful view outside to match...but it seemed that the house, nor the view could save the party.

She looked at her watch and withheld a groan. It was only eight o'clock. The night was young. Thank God she was standing by the bar, she needed another drink. She turned around to request another dry martini when she heard a male voice behind her.

"Judging from the look of complete and utter boredom you have on your face, I take it you're having a good time?"

He stood at around six feet tall and was wearing a perfectly tailored tux. His eyes were a dark blue, and his smile was friendly. Pepper gazed at his blonde hair for a moment, stunned at how perfectly styled it was. And how shiny. Very, very shi--

"I'm Joe London, I'm in the marketing department for Stark Industries. I have to say, your boss has been keeping us on our toes for the last few months..." He gave a boyish grin and Pepper silently added 'charming' to the list.

"Best part of the job. It's never mundane." Pepper was a bit shy at first, but slowly warmed up to him as they talked about various subjects, including the new direction Stark Industries was taking. Time seemed to fly by, and before she knew it, it was almost ten-thirty. While they were still making smalltalk, she had no idea that Tony Stark was glaring at Mr. London's shiny tresses.

* * *

"Do you see that guy talking to Pepper?" Tony asked Rhodey, his gaze never wandering from Mr. London. Rhodey rolled his eyes.

"The dude with the shiny head?"

"Yeah, that guy."

"Pepper's having a conversation with someone. Is that so strange, or does she need permission from you to speak to certain individuals?"

"Well, I don't like him."

"Why, do you know him?"

"No, never met him in my life," Tony replied, and took a sip of his scotch.

"So you've never met him, yet you don't like him?"

"Yes."

"And your reasons for not liking him are...?"

"Did you just see that? He made her laugh. He made her laugh, Rhodey. The guy looks like he can't joke his way out of a paper bag. She probably laughed to be polite. You know Pepper, she's got impeccable manners."

"Of course," Rhodey said dryly. He wondered when Tony was going to acknowledge his jealousy.

"I think you're overreacting a bit, Tony. She's just talking to the guy."

"He looks like he's ready to mount her!"

Rhodey was thrown off guard by that comment and choked on his drink. Tony didn't seem to notice.

"You think she likes him?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask her?" Rhodey snarled, irritated by his friend's behavior.

"I mean, she doesn't look like she likes him. Of course, I could be--wait a second, they're leaving! They're leaving the room! Where are they going? Wait, wait, I lost them. His shiny head just disappeared amongst the crowd. Do you see him?" Tony demanded, while Rhodey just shook his head.

"Tony, she's a big girl. She can take care of herself," Rhodey reassured him, but Tony wasn't listening.

"I can't believe I lost them!"

Tony put down his glass of scotch and moved quickly across the room. Rhodey watched him leave with a mixture of amusement and pity.

* * *

"I'm sorry Joe, I'd like to stay but I'm very tired," Pepper apologized as they made their way into the coat room. Joe made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

"No need to apologize, it is getting late. Let me help you find your coat."

"Thank you, Joe." Pepper began to sift through the coats on the bed, and Joe moved to where she was standing.

"What color is your--" Joe started, but stopped in mid-sentence as he walked on to a coat that was hastily thrown to the ground and collided into Pepper. Pepper gave a surprised squeak as she felt him bump into her, and instinctively grabbed his shoulders to prevent herself from falling onto the hard wooden floor. For a few seconds they tried to regain their balance, but it was no use. Joe was the first to go while Pepper fell on top of him, their arms entangled. Her face was inches from his, and she blushed as she realized that the position they were in was a very...compromising position. Joe was about to apologize and help Pepper up when the door to the coat room opened.

Pepper's eyes widened as she heard footsteps behind her. She wondered if it was possible for a person to die from sheer mortification. Her only comfort was that the only way the situation could get worse was if it was Tony that had opened the door.

"Miss Potts?" Said a familiar voice. Pepper was sure if her eyes widened any more they would fall out of her head. She got the courage to glance at the door, and her worst fears were confirmed.

"Mr. Stark?" She squeaked. She couldn't even describe the look on his face. But he wasn't staring at her anymore; he was staring at Joe, and if looks could kill, Joe would have turned into a pile of ashes. Joe looked very much afraid, and had the deer in the headlights look.

"Mr. Stark, I--"

"You have about three seconds to get away from my assistant." Pepper was shocked by Tony's tone...it was filled with so much anger, and when Joe pushed her off quickly and none too gently, a part of her understood. Tony looked very intimidating, and the glare intensified when Joe was trying to leave the room.

"Mr. Stark, you--"

"Vanish." One word, yet it held so many threatening possibilities. Joe promptly ran out of the room.

Only Pepper and Tony remained, and Pepper was so embarrassed she couldn't even speak.

"Mr. Stark, I--"

"I take it you were leaving, Miss Potts?" He asked, and looked over at her coat.

"Yes, actually."

"Me too. Come on, I'll call Happy and tell him to bring the car around." Pepper nodded and hastily threw her coat on, the trip to the car absolutely silent.

Five minutes into the drive home, Pepper couldn't be silent any longer.

"Tony, I--"

"Was he bothering you? Did he pressure you into anything?"

"What?! No!"

"Because if he was, I—oh...no? Really? Are you sure? Pepper, there's no need to protect him. He--"

"Mr. Stark, he's a very kind man! He was a total gentlemen the entire time." Pepper was taken aback at how disappointed Tony was hearing that Joe was a decent person. Meanwhile, Tony had all kinds of scenarios running through his head. Pepper was so defensive of Joe's character and conduct...had they known each other for awhile? Worse, were they dating? Was he too late?

"I see. Well then, I guess I owe you an apology, Miss Potts. I assumed he was giving you trouble."

"Oh no, he wasn't. About the incident in the coat room--"

"There's no need to explain, Miss Potts. You're an attractive woman...a very attractive woman at that, and of course it's only logical that you would find someone some day, someone that would make you happy--"

"No, no, you don't understand--"

"And of course, I'm happy for you. Delighted. Elated. Very, very happy for you. It's just, you know, I'm a bit surprised. He just doesn't seem to be your type. But I was wrong, obviously. I mean, he's so, so--"

"Mr. Stark, you're not listening to m--"

"I mean, his hair. His hair, Pepper. It's perfectly coiffed. Like a Ken doll."

"Mr. Stark, would you please just let me speak for one min--"

"I mean, not that having coiffed hair is a bad thing. It must have some merit since you're dating the guy. But Pepper, his hair doesn't move. He must shalack the thing before he goes out--"

"Mr. Stark--"

"To be honest, I'm half-tempted to give it a tug, see if it's actually real and no--"

"TONY!" She growled, "Stop. Speaking. Now."

"Right, not speaking. You were saying?" He asked innocently. Pepper looked ready to smack him.

"If you would just let me explain myself and not go into a tangent about his hair, you would have known sooner that I am not, in fact, dating Mr. London. I have had only one conversation with him, and that conversation took place tonight. Furthermore, I have no desire to date him. He was simply helping me find my coat. We ended up in that...position because he slipped on a jacket that was left on the floor, causing him to bump into me and then we both fell. And then you walked in, and...that was that."

Tony said nothing and stared at her for a few moments, as if he was trying to find the right words to say.

"So...no dating?"

"No...not that it's any of your concern anyway. I mean, I'm allowed to date!"

"Of course you are."

"I can have boyfriends!"

"Of course you can."

"I mean, I have some guys that are interested. Very interested." Pepper had no idea where that came from. She was wondering if there was something wrong with her.

"Of course you do. Wait, who?!"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, of course it matters!"

"Why?!" She demanded, "Why should it matter to you?"

"Because it should be me dating you, dammit!" Tony shouted, and then stopped speaking when he realized exactly what he said. Pepper's eyes were opened in that frightening way again, and for the first time since Tony could remember, he was speechless. After a few moments of awkward silence, he spoke.

"That...you weren't supposed to know that...yet."

"Yet?"

"Yeah, yet."

"So...there was a set date or something?"

"Well, no, but I had plans...for the immediate future." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Listen, I know I may not be the ideal man a girl hopes to be with, I know I don't exactly have the best track record. I'd like to think I've learned from my past mistakes though, and I don't want to be the person that I was before I went to Afghanistan. A friend told me to not waste my life, and I made a promise that I wouldn't. I don't want to attend crazy parties, stay out all hours of the night, or date women who have limited intelligence. You're all that I have Pepper, but you're also all that I want. I want you...just you." He slowly moved his hand over to hers, and gave it a soft squeeze.

For a moment, Pepper said nothing. He could tell that she was trying to absorb everything that had happened and what Tony had said. Every second of silence that passed made Tony even more nervous. Finally Pepper looked up at him, her hand squeezing back.

"We'll have to take this slow."

"I can do slow." Pepper looked at him disbelievingly.

"I can!"

"When was the last time you dated?"

"Point taken."

"I mean it, Tony. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. So no more girls--"

"Of course."

"No crazy parties--"

"I can do that."

"And please promise me you'll try and drink less."

"I...can work on that."

"Good enough for me."

The rest of the ride home was in comfortable silence, their hands still entwined. If Happy noticed them grinning like loons, he didn't say anything.

_finis_

So what did you guys think? I was so nervous about posting this. In my opinion, Tony's a hard character to write. Did I pass or fail terribly? :P

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! :)


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